YOUTUBE CINEMATIC LOG #3

Quick: what’s the first thing that tells you the identity of a given company? C’mon, tell me what it is. Don’t be shy. Any day now. I’m waiting.

OK, maybe I should give my inhumble perspective as to what makes me remember a company: it’s the products they sell. If I like a product, I tell people all about it. Depending on what the product is, I even let others try it out. Products that fail to meet the expectations of the many, however, get their reputation spread further than peanut butter in a lake, courtesy of me.

It’s impossible to deny that another kind of unique creation gives consumers the ability to tell which company makes which product. This creation would take the form of the logo. Because they are meant, by nature, to distinguish one company’s wares from another, logos take on shapes that reflect the company agenda, and say a lot about what kind of products a company intends to sell. They are, truth be told, characters of a sort.

But though these logos help to make each company line unique, a common question lends itself to discussion: what would happen if these logos were characters slash entities in a crafted fictional world? Artists have wondered this for decades, but until the advent of the internet, we never received an answer.

Then someone did…in France. Thankfully, they put it on Youtube, so now, many can have a laugh at the mania and commercialism of LOGORAMA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUd_IdUOz9U

This animated short gave me quite a laugh in how the logos & mascots weave into the world; from the MGM lion serving as a main zoo attraction, to the Big Boy acting like nothing more than a spoiled brat, the Michelin Marshmallow guy keeping the peace as police officers, and Ronald McDonald as a two-cent criminal. There’s even a great gag involving the Jolly Green Giant & a tilting low angle shot, which serve to create a hilarious joke I’m surprised no-one else thought up before this.

Many medium close ups serve to highlight the character’s reactions to a certain event that begins occuring at the end of the short, creating a sense of care & sympathy (and maybe empathy) from the audience. I found myself especially frightened by an extreme closeup of Ronald McDonald’s face when his story arc takes a turn for the better as he finds some leverage for his situation. Several extreme longshots accompany the many locations, such as the bushy zoo, sprawling city & desert-like countryside, highlighting their many unique features and creating the feeling of an authentic world. One of the best shots in the short involves an extreme longshot that continually zooms not in, but out.

There’s no way anyone could watch this and say no care went into making it. Because that would be a lie. And lying about someone’s identity, especially that of a company, is bad.